Pecan Pie Bars from Jill

I received an urgent e-mail from my daughter. It was short--Mom, you have got to make these Pecan Pie Bars NOW! Jill is a great cook so I did just what she said and made them. The recipe started out with 3 cubes of butter...they had to be good.  It has a shortbread crust and a delicious pecan topping. Luckily I had lots of company so it disappeared quickly.

This is a perfect treat for your next picnic or barbeque. Consider this your urgent message!

Pecan Pie Bars

For the crust

2 sticks butter, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 2/3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

 For the topping

1 stick butter

1 cup light brown sugar (7 ounces)*

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350, line a 9x13 pan with foil, leave a 2 inch overhang--this will make for an easy removal. Spray the foil.

Make the crust by creaming the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the flour and salt--mix until crumbly.

Press the crust in the foil lined pan and bake for 20 minutes. Crust will be golden brown.

While the crust bakes prepare the filling. Combine butter, brown sugar, honey and cream in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat, simmer the mixture for 1 minute then add pecans.

Pour the hot filling over the hot crust, spread as needed. Bake an additional 20 minutes. Allow bars to cool completely in pan (I may have speed the process by putting them in the freezer--I'm an inpatient soul). Use the foil to lift the cool bars out of the pan. Remove foil, place on cutting board and cut in nice neat squares.

Serve to your friends and family--they will love you forever!

*Why do I give the brown sugar in ounces? I've always packed the brown sugar in the measuring cup as the recipe directs. I guess there must be many levels of 'packed' because  I measured my 'packed' brown sugar and found I had almost an ounce too much! Doesn't sound like much but it made all the difference in the cookie bars I was making. So now I measure my brown sugar on my scale. A scale is a great thing to have. Give your husband one for his birthday!
**My crust was thicker than the original recipe. It was good but I just may adjust the crust in the future--maybe make 3/4 the recipe. The topping was perfect!
 Thanks Just a Taste for a great recipe